• Talking of road safety leads me conveniently on to
Page 90
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a newspaper item from New York which suggests that drivers who smoke (Cigarettes. I guess) are more prone to road accidents than non-smokers.
It appears that smokers drive through more red lights, break the speed limit more often and get into 50% more accidents than their nicotine-free counter-parts — according to a study by the Massachusetts University Medical Centre.
Past researches have failed to find any evidence that smoking causes physical changes that would impair the skills of drivers. The reason, the researchers state, may lie in the personality of people who take up smoking since "reckless people (presumably the smokers) behave equally recklessly with nicotine or with cars."
Seemingly, random questioning of 1,999 people renewing their licences revealed that smokers had 46% more traffic tickets than the nonsmokers. (I wonder what happened to the 2,000th questionnaire?).
No mention is made of lorry
drivers who one-handedly rolltheir-own and light up same en route.